Village notebook

Business' donations will help foster membership growth

I've really been using this space a lot lately for "thank yous," and let me say -- I won't apologize.

It's great to have so many things to be grateful for, and so many things to show as examples of all the ways our community gives back to the German Village Society.

Starting Jan. 1, Alarm One Security has created a new way to support the German Village Society.

The company, a longtime member of the German Village Business Community (that's a committee of the German Village Society, remember), will give $100 to the German Village Society each time a new customer in the 43206 zip code chooses Alarm One Security.

Take a moment to digest that.

This is incredibly benevolent of Alarm One Security, and we are so grateful to be the recipients.

The company's message is: support local businesses. It is investing in our organization as a place where we facilitate and foster that message.

By giving to the Society for new customers throughout the ZIP code, Alarm One Security is also fostering our growing relationship with the whole South Side.

That's an area with about 24,000 residents and a more than a dozen different community groups with whom we're actively trying to network.

Working in concert with German Village Society Trustee and Membership Committee Chairwoman Stefanie Martt, the Society will use the Alarm One Security donation to create a year's membership (plus an additional donation) to each of the new customers throughout the ZIP code.

That gives many folks who have never heard of the Society, or never joined, a chance to try us for a year, risk-free, to see if we're worth their personal investment in 2014.

That's a big opportunity -- a major foot in the door of neighbors we haven't yet converted to donors.

German Village Society Executive Director Shiloh Todorov submitted the Village notebook column.